Prologue

Emptiness makes up a vast majority of the boundless darkness that is called the universe. And in this emptiness stood a wizened old man, with white hair that reached his shoulders. His pallor was like that of a waning moon and the surrounding aura expressed grief and melancholy. He continued to stand in the obscuring darkness, looking at the sight that only his eyes could see.

In his vision, a world suspended in space-and-time was visible. The mountains and rivers, the countless creatures that inhabited it and even the very essence of this world had been sealed. It was as if a pause button had been pushed. Once considered a High Realm, it was now a dead world. Almost dead. It was only the old man's presence that tethered this world from disappearing into nothingness.

Trapped in stillness, forgotten by the universe itself, it had become invisible to everyone but that old man. It was only because of his connection to the Realm that came from being the Realm Lord that still allowed him see it. If he were to take his eyes away for a moment, it would vanish forever.

His eyes glistened with tears, regret welling up inside him. His action had caused this. He blamed himself, but more than that, he blamed his lack of strength to prevent it. No words could describe the pain in his heart at that moment, as he continued to stare.

A look of determination finally came over his face as he made up his mind.

"This is a result of my actions and by my actions alone, I shall repent."

He knew that this was a trap that was prepared specifically to for him by those bastards from the Divine Realm. But he could not choose otherwise. He would continue to strive forward in the same headstrong manner that he always had before. Perhaps that was why it had come to this, but there was no point in regretting it.

Even reversing time would lead to the same result, so now he could only willingly jump into this trap.

He would use his life to save his home.

Making a mudra with both his hands, the old man disappeared from where he stood.

He had acted to save his world, but there was almost no hope. But he held faith that in the future there would be someone who would definitely break through this cage. As long as he burned his life to give his world time, there would arrive a day when his people would be free.

If he had chosen to look away and continue to obstruct the plans of those from the Divine Realm, then all this preparation would have been for nothing. They did not have the capability to surround and capture him, so they had to use such a method. They had even left an infinitesimal chance for him to set things back to normal as a bait, so that he would willingly jump in. And now their plan had successfully come to fruition.

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A few million kilometers away, in another world that was as colorful as it could get, there stood a large palace.

Two men sat opposite to each other, a game of chess in between them.

"That old man really took the bait, as you had planned. Now there is no one else who will obstruct our plans." One of the men, who had blue hair spoke. His voice contained a mirthful tone. Despite this, his expression looked to be divided between glee and frustration.

"You call it 'our' plan, but the fact remains that we are just pawns in the hands of those from the Divine Realm." The man opposite to the blue haired man said. He had a neutral tone that implied he cared not about this matter.

"You sure don't mince your words. But The fact is that this is an opportunity for us. The High Realms only lack in numbers compared to the Divine Realm. If we make careful moves, we can definitely benefit from this." The blue haired man replied.

"Is that why you invited me here? If that is all I will take my leave. I have no intentions of facing off with the old fogies from the Divine Realm." The hard faced man said.

"Agh, you are no fun. Think about it a little later. I am not rushing you for a reply"

The hard faced man did not say anything and moved up from his seat. He once again looked at the game of chess that was placed in front of him and then turned away and left the large room.

"Lets have a spar instead of this boring game of mind next time."

He left a single message as he jumped into the sky and returned to his world.

The blue haired man now had a visible grin on his face. He knew that this exchange had been a success. The hard faced man had spoken about there being a next time so naturally he was happy. He only needed to be patient now.

"Tsk, if only that old man had not interfered in our plan, we would already be halfway through. But now his actions have put us at least two thousand years behind. Tch... At least the fact that he is going to face a slow and torturous death comforts me. He must have thought that he could turn it around as long he suffered silently, buying out time. Alas, I already snubbed any chance he might have of escaping the prison that he willingly jumped into." He laughed while talking to himself. Then he disappeared as well.

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